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Juventus: Two players expected to return against Bologna

By James Cormack

TURIN, ITALY - NOVEMBER 27: Weston McKennie of Juventus reacts as he leaves the field of play with a knee injury during the Serie A match between Juventus and Atalanta BC at Allianz Stadium on November 27, 2021 in Turin, Italy. (Photo by Jonathan Moscrop/Getty Images)
TURIN, ITALY - NOVEMBER 27: Weston McKennie of Juventus reacts as he leaves the field of play with a knee injury during the Serie A match between Juventus and Atalanta BC at Allianz Stadium on November 27, 2021 in Turin, Italy. (Photo by Jonathan Moscrop/Getty Images) /
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Massimiliano Allegri is set to welcome back Weston McKennie and Dejan Kulusevski for Saturday’s Serie A clash against Bologna.

Juventus saw their momentum halted last weekend as they were held to a 1-1 draw away at Venezia. They had won three on the bounce before that and had secured their place in the Champions League knockout stages as group winners. Their reward is a round of 16 tie against Villarreal.

For now, however, Juve’s sights are set firmly on Bologna as they seek to march up the Serie A standings once more. They fell down to seventh after Matchday 17 as both Fiorentina and AS Roma picked up victories. Bologna, meanwhile, fell to defeat away at Torino but they sit just four points adrift the Bianconeri in tenth.

This will be no easy task for Allegri’s Old Lady, especially with Paulo Dybala poised to miss out. However, the manager will welcome back two previously absent stars to Saturday’s matchday squad.

Weston McKennie & Dejan Kulusevski are back in contention for Juventus

American McKennie had enjoyed a stellar run of form before he picked up a knee injury in last month’s defeat to Atalanta. As a result, the midfielder has missed Juve’s last four outings and his absence was hard felt in Venice last Saturday.

Kulusevski, meanwhile, missed the victory over Malmo and the Venezia draw after undergoing minor surgery for sinusitis.

Both players have now returned to action, with Romeo Agresti confirming that the pair trained at Continassa on Wednesday ahead of Saturday’s domestic bout. With Dybala likely missing, Kulusevski should return to the starting XI if Allegri returns to the 4-2-3-1. McKennie should also return to the XI straight away, but the manager does have more options in midfield.

Rodrigo Bentancur had impressed alongside Manuel Locatelli in the victories over Salernitana and Genoa with Adrien Rabiot selected at the Uruguayan’s expense against Venezia.

A potential option for Allegri is to deploy McKennie in the trequartista position with Federico Bernardeschi and Dejan Kulusevski functioning as the primary creators behind Alvaro Morata.

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